Liberty Lies living the dream

Black Country teenage rockers Liberty Lies are preparing for the biggest gig of their career so far when they take to the stage at Wolverhampton's Wulfrun Hall as special guests of Magnum on Saturday, October 31.

The band, which draws its members from Tipton, Wednesbury and Cheslyn Hay, is only just over a year old but has already enjoyed success opening for Gun and Heaven's Basement as well as appearing at JB's and securing the runner's up slot in a live battle of the bands contest.

This is the next step up for an ambitious bunch of lads clearly hungry for success.

Guitarist Josh Pritchett, 18, explains: "I was sending e-mails to everyone I could find. I got a response from Magnum's management who checked us out. They liked what they heard and offered us the gig."

In fact Liberty Lies will also be supporting Magnum at Southampton, Pontypridd and Nottingham, getting a taste of life on the road with the veteran Midland rockers as their European tour hits the UK.

Drummer Adam (Stevo) Stevens, 18, says: "The Wulfrun gig is by far the biggest we have done so far. We snuck into there in a previous gig and sat on the stage just dreaming of what it would be like to play there. Now it's come true.

"Words can't really explain it. It's weird to think that to Magnum, it's just another date in their illustrious career. But for us, it's the biggest day of our life! We really can't wait. We just hope it doesn't fly by too fast."

The nucleus of Liberty Lies came together when a previous band featuring Josh, Stevo and singer Shaun Richards, 19, split up.

Looking round for a bassist and guitarist for their next project, Stevo went to see his girlfriend Emma Dobson in a school production of the Queen musical We Will Rock You, at Cheslyn Hay Sport and Community High School. There they found bassist Matt Jones, 19, and guitarist Dan Newman, 18, and Liberty Lies was born.

In songs like Revenant and The Burning Ashes, Liberty Lies showcase a modern rock sound which tips an appreciative nod to the classic rock of the 70s, 80s and 90s.

Shaun says: "We are a modern rock band. We have been compared to the likes of Guns n Roses and Aerosmith while we would compare us to Black Stone Cherry and Shinedown.

"We live for the live shows, we are all just a bunch of posers really," he laughs, "but we like showing people that we are having the time of our lives on stage and it's infectious."

Matt adds:" We like to think of ourselves as a modern rock 'n' roll band. We are heavily influenced by classic rock artists such as Deep Purple, Whitesnake, Journey and the like, while also looking towards more modern rock bands such as Nickelback, Shinedown and Black Stone Cherry.

"We feel that the sound we achieve is one that everyone can get into and enjoy, and when playing a gig, we love to perform. By this I mean, headbanging, running across the stage, feet on monitors, just showing the audience we are having the time of our lives. I believe it is this honesty that draws people into our shows and our music."

That attitude seems to be paying off, with more rock fans sitting up and taking notice.

Dan says: "Our level of support is ever growing. We have dedicated fans who we see at different gigs. For me, my main highlight would be getting in the final for Battle of the Bands in November 2008. Supporting Heaven's Basement, Gun and now Magnum will definitely be something I remember!

"Travelling down to London to play at Tattoofest was also an experience, to play to people who had never heard us before."

Looking beyond the Wulfrun gig, Liberty Lies have a busy time to look forward to and ambitions to achieve, including returning to Wolverhampton to headline the Little Civic on November 20.

"We are going to hit 2010 big style," says Adam. "We are going to record our EP and hopefully get on some big festivals as well as more tours like the one we are going on.

"The long term plan is to make this our lifestyle. It's something we want to do all of our life. We aren't bothered by the luxury jets or the arenas, playing a packed club around the country would be a dream come true. That's not to say that we would not turn an arena tour down!"

Four of the band's songs can be heard at www.myspace.com/libertylies but they insist these are just a taster.

Dan says: "Our current recording are roughly mixed and don't do our live performance justice. So first port of call after the Magnum shows, is to start saving up to go back into the studio and record our EP professionally, and then later an album. So you can expect some bigger, hard driving, adrenaline filled anthems from us in the near future."

The last word goes to Adam.

"The Midlands has always produced the best bands," he says "We hope to get our name among the legends."

• Liberty Lies and Magnum play Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton, on Saturday October 31, 2009. Tickets cost £18.50 plus booking fees.

By Ian Harvey